Fun Airplane Trick*

Courtesy of Mr. Charles Biddle.

If you’re sitting next to someone on a plane who irritates you, try doing this:

1. Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.

2. Remove your laptop.Start it up.

3. Make sure the fellow traveller who is annoying you can see the screen.

4. Close your eyes and tilt your head up to the sky and move your lips like you are praying.

5. Then click here.

*I don't actually recommend that you do this.

Kill The Lights.

...was just leaked. :-)

Wow.

Some guy wrote an a cappella song basing the lyrics on the stories from STAR WARS, set to the tunes from John Williams' most famous movie theme songs. Glorious.

Bionic Hand.

Here is an excerpt from a BBC.com report:

The world's first commercially available bionic hand has been recognised as one of the top inventions of 2008. The hand, developed by Livingston company Touch Bionics, was named alongside the Super Hadron Collider in Time magazine's top 50 innovations.

It came in at 14th place, beating competition from the latest Mars Rover, designed to explore the red planet. The hand took 20 years to develop and has five separately working fingers. This makes it more versatile than previous hands, which have often been hook-like and limited to simple opening and closing movements. The i-limb hand has a much wider range of capabilities. It has a credit-card grip, for taking hold of narrow objects, and a power hold for larger objects such as mugs.

So ugly that I love it.

The Galpin Auto Sports' Scythe. Here is what wired.com has to say about :

We're sure Beau Boeckmann's crew at GAS were specifically commissioned to build a vehicle with two steering wheels, 1,005 horsepower and a face like a cicada. We can't imagine any other reason an ordinarily top-tier custom shop would create such so hideous a monster. After all, these are the folks who bring you the custom-for-custom's sake reinterpretations seen on Pimp My Ride. "With Scythe, we set out to showcase all of our unique fabrication abilities here at GAS," Boeckmann said in press release. "From the handmade composite body and voice-activated on-board computer system to the twin-supercharged 1,005 horsepower engine, this car was built to make a statement."

That statement is "We turned a 2008 Mustang GT convertible into a 1994 Hot Wheels reject."

Boechmann unveiled the Scythe at a big charity event that featured more B-, C- and D-List celebs than an episode of I Love the 90's. Heck, even Mark McGrath and Scott Baio were there. We hope proceeds went to the AMC Gremlin Memorial Foundation for Terminally Unattractive Cars.

It's funny, because it's true.

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

The White House.

Dupli.Casa
Location: House near Ludwigsburg, Germany
By J. MAYER H. Architects

What does the world think?

World leaders are reacting on this momenteous event. Some of the reactions may or may not surprise you. Here are a few excerpts from a BBC.com report:

US PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH
"Mr President-elect, congratulations to you. What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters.
"I promise to make this a smooth transition. You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself."

UK PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN
"This is a moment that will live in history as long as history books are written.
"Barack Obama ran an inspirational campaign, energising politics with his progressive values and his vision for the future."

EUROPEAN COMMISSION CHIEF JOSE MANUEL BARROSO
"This is a time for a renewed commitment between Europe and the United States of America. We need to change the current crisis into a new opportunity. We need a new deal for a new world.
"I sincerely hope that with the leadership of President Obama, the United States of America will join forces with Europe to drive this new deal - for the benefit of our societies, for the benefit of the world."

FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA
"Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.
"We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead."

ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER TZIPI LIVNI
"Israel expects the close strategic co-operation with the new administration, president and Congress will continue along with the continued strengthening of the special and unshakeable special relationship between the two countries."

PALESTINIAN LEADER MAHMOUD ABBAS
"President Abbas congratulates US President-elect Barack Obama in his name and in the name of the Palestinian people, and hopes he will speed up efforts to achieve peace, particularly since a resolution of the Palestinian problem and the Israeli-Arab conflict is key to world peace."

ADVISER TO IRAQI PRIME MINISTER NOURI MALIKI, SADEQ RIQABI
"The American people have presented a tremendous example to the world by ignoring racist attitudes - and this is an unprecedented example of democracy.
"We in Iraq, with our newly-born democracy, look forward to working with the United States."

AIDE TO IRAN'S AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, ALI AGHAMOHAMMADI
"The president-elect has promised changes in policies. There is a capacity for the improvement of ties between America and Iran if Obama pursues his campaign promises, including not confronting other countries as Bush did in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also concentrating on America's state matters and removing the American people's concerns."

ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY GENERAL AMR MUSA

"I stress the importance of the message that Mr Obama has never ceased to send, which is we all need change and that is what we do expect from the new leader of the United States.
"We need an American policy based on honest brokership."

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER MANMOHAN SINGH

"Your extraordinary journey to the White House will inspire people not only in your country but also around the world."

PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER YOUSUF RAZA GILANI
"Your election marks a new chapter in the remarkable history of the United States. For long, the ideas of democracy, liberty and freedom espoused by the United States has been a source of inspiration. I hope that under your dynamic leadership, the United States will continue to be a source of global peace and new ideas for humanity."

AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI
"I applaud the American people for their great decision and I hope that this new administration in the United States of America, and the fact of the massive show of concern for human beings and lack of interest in race and colour while electing the president, will go a long way in bringing the same values to the rest of world sooner or later.
"I [hope] President Obama's coming into office will bring peace to Afghanistan, life to Afghanistan and prosperity to the Afghan people and to the rest of the world."

POPE BENEDICT'S SPOKESMAN REV FEDERICO LOMBARDI

"Believers are praying that God will enlighten him and help him in his great responsibility, which is enormous because of the global importance of the United States. We hope Obama can fulfil the expectations and hopes that many have in him."

RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER GRIGORY KARASIN
"The news we are receiving on the results of the American presidential election shows that everyone has the right to hope for a freshening of US approaches to all the most complex issues, including foreign policy and therefore relations with the Russian Federation as well."

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY
"I give you my warmest congratulations and, through me, those of all French people. Your brilliant victory rewards a tireless commitment to serve the American people.
"By choosing you, the American people have chosen change, openness and optimism. At a time when all of us must face huge challenges together, your election raises great hope in France, in Europe and elsewhere in the world."

AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER KEVIN RUDD
"Forty-five years ago Martin Luther King had a dream of an America where men and women would be judged not on the colour of their skin but on the content of their character.
"Today what America has done is turn that dream into a reality."

SUDANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ALI AL-SADIG
"We don't expect any change through our previous experience with the Democrats. When it comes to foreign policy there is no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats."

AFGHAN TALEBAN SPOKESMAN QARI YOUSUF AHMADI
"There is neither joy, nor sorrow among our ranks by the election of Barack Obama.
"The question is not about a change in the face of the American President, but a change in American policy."

PAKISTAN TALEBAN SPOKESMAN MUSLIM KHAN
"I hope that Barack Obama will respect the mandate given to him, and instead of using the (US) public's taxes to convert the world into a pile of dynamite, spend it on their welfare and well-being."

History.

Yes. I voted for him.
But no. I was never a huge fanatic.
Besides what I have said on this website, I have not actively campaigned for Obama.
Yet, when he gave this speech, I teared up.


"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America."

AMEEN.

Cute.

Not only does she support fellow-crazies, but she has great speaking skills. These excerpts are taken from a report on CNN.com:

Palin refused to say if she had voted to re-elect Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, who was convicted last week of seven felony corruption charges. “I am also exercising my right to privacy, and I don't have to tell anybody who I vote for, nobody does, and that’s really cool about America also,” she said.

Asked if she had any regrets about the campaign, Palin bemoaned “the state of journalism today." She continued, "The blogosphere, the two, three hour news cycles, where just too much is reported based on gossip and innuendo and things taken out of context,” she explained, adding that she’d like to help improve the profession because she has “great respect for the world of journalism.”

Exciting Day!!!

Like many of you, I have been somewhat jaded by this overhyped and oversaturated election season; yet, somehow I feel invigorated today. [As cheesy as that may sound.]

No. I will not go out and tell you to vote for Obama, even though I think you should.*

I just want you to vote. Not because of the same boring reasons like "It's your duty!" or "The fate of the nation is in your hands!" No. I want you to vote because I want you to know how it feels.

During this past week, serving on a jury and voting, I have a new appreciation for the American democratic system. I believe it is so easy to take it for granted, as I have. To find the cliche-ness of it all, especially with the corny slogans used to justify war and the "spreading of democracy".

And I can ramble on and on about how I feel, but you need to know how it feels, only then will you get a sense of what I am saying.

I voted this morning. And it was actually...dare I say...fun.

*Some idiot pulled out and ripped my OBAMA sign in the front lawn, which I have had up for about a week. I don't really care, since I am in Massachusetts, but I can only sympathize with the idiot who did that. Why? Because (a) He/she thinks it will bother me. (b) He/she thinks it will make a difference. (c) He/she takes its so personally that they vandalize my property. (d) The sign is back up. (e) Obama is going to win *fingers crossed*.

Tell me something I don't know.

Here is an excerpt from a recent BBC.com article:

Women's hands 'harbour more bugs'. Women have a greater range of different types of bacteria on the palms of their hands than men, US research suggests.

The study also found that human hands harbour far higher numbers of bacteria species than previously thought. Using powerful gene sequencing techniques, researchers found a typical hand had roughly 150 different species of bacteria living on it. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study found bacteria types varied greatly between individuals.

I hope...

...that after tomorrow, I can pretend like this doesn't scare me.

Cindy McCain Claims She's Just Like Any Other Female Human

The Ultimate Tree House

The Naha Harbor Diner in Okinawa, Japan is a life-size rendition of a banyan tree, also known as gajumaru. The Banyan Town shopping center near the entrance of Onoyama Park features a twenty foot tall tree with a pan-Asian restaurant nestled amid its branches. Accessible by a spiral staircase around back and an in-trunk elevator, the restaurant specializes in locally grown and organic harvested foods fresh from the farm.

Possibly the weirdest clip on YouTube

Yes, this is the "Leave Britney Alone" creep...but look how far he (she?) has come.